Iraqi Blogger Laments Rise of Clerics

Posted on Apr 2, 2006

The young, U.K.-raised Iraqi dentist—whose writing has run in the Washington Post—says this in a recent blog: “Islamic clerics (of all denominations) never fail to disgust me. Thanks to their efforts, we are becoming quite fluent in 7th century medieval vocabulary.” How many Iraqis will listen to such sermons then go out on a rampage to slaughter their Nawasib neighbours, or their Rafidha friends?

Healing Iraq:

From Mar. 24:

Black-clad Mahdi army militiamen drag the body of Sheikh Ghazi Al-Zoba’i, the Imam and preacher of the Al-Sabbar mosque around a street in Husseiniya, a mixed suburb north of Baghdad.

I reported this lynching incident during the sectarian attacks that followed the Samarra shrine bombing. This is an extremely disturbing cell phone video clip of the whole scene.

Someone shouts: “drag the Wahhabi,” while another describes him as a “bastard.” They pause a moment to search for a wire, then they dump him on the side of the road. Another militiaman suggests they bury him. “What do you mean bury him?” the gang leader snaps back with indignation. “Leave him here to the dogs.” Then they joke about his underwear and cover the corpse with a cardboard.